1. Field of the Invention.
This application relates to an improved air cargo container and enabling method and means for the construction thereof Also it pertains to an air cargo container corner construction which facilitates advantage in formation for assembly and disassembly of highly desired transparent and tough polycarbonate panels, in that it allows them for the first time to be used effectively in air cargo containers.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art.
Prior art containers and container structures have provided containers of rigid and sturdy construction to safeguard cargo items being transported or stored therein. However, the side panels of the previous containers have been attached to the container frame most often using a bolt that passed through the panel. This made the use of a polycarbonate panel undesirable because of stress crazing and cracking that occurred around the bolt holes through which the bolt passed when attaching the panel. Additionally, the attempted use of nuts and bolts, rivets, fixings or the like to attach the side panel necessitated much effort to replace any side panel, in that removing the panel required disassembly of the nut and bolt combination. Special tools were often needed and the individual nuts and bolts were lost, especially under operating conditions for loading cargo containers into airplanes, i.e., urgency and sometimes poor illumination. Additionally, the commonly used panel material, aluminum, is not transparent. Thus the cargo handlers cannot see how or to what extent the cargo container is loaded. The lack of transparency of prior panels also hid undesired acts of pilferage from plain view.
A container constructed in accordance with the present invention provides long sought solutions to the above problems with a maximum of strength and a minimum of weight. By eliminating any need to pass a bolt through the polycarbonate panel, stress crazing of the panel has been eliminated. The interaction of the inventive corner molding joint with the herein disclosed method for shape-forming the edges of a polycarbonate plastic panel allow the use of polycarbonate panels in air cargo containers. The resulting corner molding joint also has the advantage of allowing quick and easy replacement of damaged side panels through the use of preferably an integral jack-bolt mechanism for engaging and disengaging strongly mated and fixed parts of the corner joint. The jack-bolt mechanism coupled with toughness and transparency of the polycarbonate panels also allows easy repair in adverse conditions, requiring no more than a power screwdriver. Furthermore, the new and improved assembly prevents the loss of any parts needed to reassemble the air cargo container when a damaged panel needs replacement.